An Inventory of Penitentiary Board Monthly Reports at the
Texas State Archives,
1881-1883

The Texas State
Penitentiary Board of Commissioners was responsible for overseeing the
treatment of convicts, preparing an annual inventory of property, purchasing
land for the penitentiaries, purchasing machinery, effecting repairs, leasing
the penitentiaries, leasing convicts for outside labor, purchasing and/or
leasing farms for the employment of convicts, and providing for the transfer of
convicts from county jails to the penitentiary. Records are monthly reports
prepared by the superintendent of the state penitentiary for the governor bound
in a letterpress book and date from May 1881 to November 1883. The
superintendent reported to the governor biennially and at the end of each month
on the condition at the state penitentiary. The monthly reports consist of a
cover letter to the governor giving a brief narrative summary of the activities
over the past month and several statistical tables, including the number of
convicts received; lists of convicts discharged, pardoned, escaped, recaptured,
died, and hospitalized; clothing and other provisions issued; transportation
vouchers paid; and the number of convicts on hand during the month, including a
breakdown by location. The data reported includes the state penitentiary and
all the outside camps where convicts were housed.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) manages offenders in
state prisons, state jails and contracted private correctional facilities. The
agency also provides funding and certain oversight of community supervision and
is responsible for the supervision of offenders released from prison on parole
or mandatory supervision. The Department of Criminal Justice came into being in
1848 when "An Act to Establish a State
Penitentiary" was passed by the Second Texas Legislature. The act
established a governing body of the penitentiary as a three-member Board of
Directors, appointed by the Governor, with the approval of the Senate. The
Board was responsible for creating and distributing a set of rules and bylaws
for the administration of the penitentiary, overseeing the treatment of
convicts, preparing an annual inventory of property, and making an annual
report to the Governor. Over the years, the name and composition of the Board
changed. While its basic functions were not greatly altered, some duties were
added. These included acquiring land for the Huntsville and Rusk facilities,
purchasing machinery, effecting repairs, leasing the penitentiaries, leasing
convicts for outside labor, purchasing and/or leasing farms for the employment
of convicts, and providing for the transfer of convicts from county jails to
the penitentiary. During the 19th century the direct management of the prison
was through the inspector, later known as the superintendent. Other officers
included assistant superintendents, inspectors of outside camps, the financial
agent, and physicians. The superintendent and financial agent had the most
direct dealings with the Board and the Governor in the management of the prison
system.

The Texas prison system began as a single institution, located in
Huntsville, known as the Huntsville Penitentiary. Convicts were put to work in
various shops and factories housed within the institution. In 1871, the
legislature directed that the penitentiary be leased to private individuals
(Chapter 21, 12th Legislature, 1st Called Session). These men, known as
lessees, paid the state for the convict labor and use of facilities, and in
turn, managed the system, including clothing and feeding the convicts and
paying the guards. It was during this period that the outside camp system was
firmly established as part of the prison system. In addition to the use of
convicts in and around the prison, the convicts were hired out to large labor
employers, mainly plantation owners and railroad companies. A second prison
facility, Rusk Penitentiary, was built between 1877 and 1882. It began
receiving convicts in January of 1883.

In 1881, the Legislature reorganized the prison system, abolishing the
Board of Directors, and creating in its place a Penitentiary Board, consisting
of the governor, the state treasurer, and the prison superintendent (Chapter
49, 17th Legislature, Regular Session). In April 1883, the administrative
system was again reorganized, with the board comprised of the governor and two
commissioners appointed by the governor (Chapter 114, 18th Legislature, Regular
Session). In 1885, the board composition changed once more, now consisting of
three commissioners appointed by the governor (House Bill 562, 19th
Legislature, Regular Session). This board was succeeded by the Board of Prison
Commissioners in 1910, which was composed of three commissioners appointed by
the governor (Senate Bill 10, 31st Legislature, 4th Called Session). The
legislation that created the new board also directed the prison system to begin
operating again on state account, i.e., lessees no longer managed the prison
system, effective in January 1911. Convicts, or inmates, were housed and worked
in one of the two prisons or on one of several state prison farms. The shop
industries slowed down while the prison farms expanded. This arrangement made
it more difficult to provide education and other reform measures. Such measures
were generally practiced at Huntsville, with some teaching extended to a couple
of prison farms by the early 1900s.

The Texas Prison Board replaced the Board of Prison Commissioners as
the governing body for the Texas Prison System in 1927, increasing in size to
nine members (House Bill 59, 40th Legislature, Regular Session). The members of
the board were appointed by the governor, with senate approval, to six year
overlapping terms. The Board formulated the policies and the manager carried
them out. During the Board's tenure, 1927-1957, the Board made changes in the
system including more emphasis on prison reform, teaching,
recreation--including the establishment of the Texas Prison Rodeo--and a new
method of classifying inmates. The Texas Prison System became the Department of
Corrections in 1957 (Senate Bill 42, 55th Legislature, Regular Session). This
Department was governed by the Board of Corrections, composed of nine members
appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate to six year
overlapping terms.

In 1989, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Board
of Criminal Justice were created (House Bill 2335, 71st Legislature, Regular
Session). The Board is composed of nine members appointed by the governor with
the advice and consent of the senate to six year overlapping terms. The
governor may not appoint more than two members who reside in an area
encompassed by the same administrative judicial region. This new agency
absorbed the functions of three agencies: the Department of Corrections, the
Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Texas Adult Probation Commission. The
Department of Corrections, which was responsible for the operation of the
prison system, is now the Institutional Division of the Department of Criminal
Justice. This Division still manages the housing of inmates within the prison
system. As of June 2007, approximately 151,960 offenders were housed in TDCJ
units or state jails and 13,195 in private facilities.

(Sources include: Guide to Texas State
Agencies, various editions, the website of the agency (
http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/index.htm),
viewed on May 11, 2009, and the agency's records.)

The Texas State Penitentiary Board of Commissioners was responsible
for overseeing the treatment of convicts, preparing an annual inventory of
property, purchasing land for the penitentiaries, purchasing machinery,
effecting repairs, leasing the penitentiaries, leasing convicts for outside
labor, purchasing and/or leasing farms for the employment of convicts, and
providing for the transfer of convicts from county jails to the penitentiary.
Records are monthly reports prepared by the superintendent of the state
penitentiary for the governor bound in a letterpress book and date from May
1881 to November 1883. The superintendent reported to the governor biennially
and at the end of each month on the condition at the state penitentiary. The
monthly reports consist of a cover letter to the governor giving a brief
narrative summary of the activities over the past month and several statistical
tables, including the number of convicts received; lists of convicts
discharged, pardoned, escaped, recaptured, died, and hospitalized; clothing and
other provisions issued; transportation vouchers paid; and the number of
convicts on hand during the month, including a breakdown by location. The data
reported includes the state penitentiary and all the outside camps where
convicts were housed.

Beginning in 1883, data is provided for Rusk penitentiary. Following
the February 1882 monthly report is a lengthy narrative on the conditions at
the penitentiary, seemingly written as part of the biennial report to the
Governor. The writing is badly faded and cannot be read in places. At the back
of the volume are pages listing United States prisoners housed in the state
penitentiary in 1882 and 1883.

Additional monthly statistics on the convicts received and discharged,
and on the classification of convicts, or inmates, can be found in the overall
Texas Department of Criminal Justice finding aid,
in the series Statistical record ledgers. Letter
copies of the monthly reports that were sent by the superintendent to the
governor during the period circa 1875-1882, can be found in a collection of
records held by the Archives and Information Services Division,
Records Relating to the Penitentiary, in the
series, Reports, Superintendent. Later monthly
reports, dating 1914-1916 and 1931-1932, can be found in the overall TDCJ
finding aid, in the series Texas Prison Board monthly
reports.

This series was removed from the overall TDJC finding aid due to the
electronic file size limitations imposed by the online finding aid web site
(TARO). If you are reading this electronically, click on the following link to
access the overall finding aid,
Texas
Department of Criminal Justice records If you are reading this in
paper in the Archives search room, this finding aid is found in a separate
divider within the same binder.

Arrangement

The reports in this volume are arranged chronologically as received
from the agency.

Restrictions on Access

Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives
search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by
staff members.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and
may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received
by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The
researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17
U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

This letterpress volume cannot be photocopied because of its fragile
condition.

These records were appraised as archival by staff of the Texas State
Archives in August 1998. The appraisal report can be found in the search room
of the State Archives. The online version of the report for this series is
available at
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/appraisal/tdcj.html.